Latest News Articles by Jonathan Franks
Rare at auction: Hamdi Bey work
07 October 2019Since 1984, only about 20 paintings by the Turkish artist Osman Hamdi Bey (1842-1910) have come on the auction market and many of his best-known works are in international museums.
German goblet collection
07 October 2019Forty years ago, Dr Jürgen Fischer held his first auction in Heilbronn which was devoted solely to glass. Since then it has been the main, but not exclusive, focus of the house.
Accomplished still-life painter
07 October 2019Emilie Preyer (1849-1930) obviously learnt a lot from her father Johann Wilhelm Preyer, one of the most famous still-life painters in the Düsseldorf School in the late 19th century.
Calculating a fortune in Cologne
23 September 2019On October 12 Auction Team Breker in Cologne is holding a sale dedicated to antique office equipment. Among the distinctive pieces on offer is this Arithmomètre from 1865 guided at €3000-5000.
Godchaux’s own Jungle Book
23 September 2019The key influence on the work of the French sculptor Roger Godchaux (1878-1958) came from an unexpected source. He had trained at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris and soon became passionate about animal figures, first exhibiting at the Salon in 1905.
Mengelberg’s Last Supper appears at Stuttgart auction
23 September 2019Traditionally, many 19th century painters copied famous works by the Old Masters as part of their artistic training.
An Oktoberfest for auction goers
23 September 2019Oktoberfest, the world’s largest volksfest held annually in Bavaria in September and October, is just one reason to travel to Germany in the autumn. Another is the plethora of auctions held in what is traditionally a busy season for the country’s salerooms
The Bauhaus influence on show at Heidelberg sale
23 September 2019Even though the Bauhaus design school was forcibly closed in 1933, its influence continues to this day.
Sales build on Bauhaus design for life
05 August 2019Centenary of the hugely influential school’s foundation prompts a string of auctions.
Postcards showcase big names of the future
05 August 2019In its active years, some 1200 students passed through the Bauhaus school. It marked the starting point of many an illustrious career as numerous members of the teaching staff went on to become the most important artists of their era.
Metalware provides a wide price range for buyers to ponder
05 August 2019Metalware in all its forms played a major part in the development of the Bauhaus and recent sales contained examples in every price range.
Bauhaus: Miscellaneous manufacturing including ceramics from Velten-Vordamm factory
05 August 2019One of the offshoots of the Bauhaus was the ceramic factory in Velten-Vordamm, just north of Berlin. Much of the stoneware designed by the ceramic artists at the school was executed there, several examples of which came up for sale at Quittenbaum.
Bauhaus: Breuer name boosts furniture sale appeal
05 August 2019One the most productive Bauhaus furniture designers was the Hungarian-born Marcel Breuer (1902-81). From 1925-28 he was in charge of the so-called interior workshop at the design school.
Asian buyers compete for works from European collections in German and Austrian specialist auctions
15 July 2019Far and away the highest result for an Asian work of art in recent sales in Germany, Austria and Switzerland was the spectacular price of SFr4.2m (£3.3m) achieved by Koller in Zurich for a Chinese bronze censer (see front page, ATG No 2397).
Historic city Bamberg hosts 24th dealer exhibition event
15 July 2019Since the late 1880s, opera fans have braved the often intense heat of the summer to visit the Wagner festival in Bayreuth.
Sold for 914 times top estimate: £5m ‘Botticelli’ stuns saleroom
08 July 2019Spectators at an auction in Zürich were left flabbergasted when a Quattrocento panel painting with a SFr5000-7000 estimate catalogued as ‘in the style of Sandro Botticelli (c.1445-1510)’ was knocked down at SFr6.4m (£5.16m) after an intense 10-minute bidding battle.
Ground hero: mortars from Schwarzach collection impress at Cologne auction
01 July 2019Cologne auction house Lempertz (24% buyer’s premium) held a recent sale devoted to the Schwarzach Collection of mortars, which is thought to be the most extensive of its type in Europe, if not worldwide.
Art Nouveau jardinière design not seen since 1904 re-emerges at German auction
03 June 2019Ceramics are a major focus of this report on sales from Germany. The selection of highlights and unusual pieces ranges from early 19th century products of the Vienna factory via Art Nouveau creations and 1920s Soviet-era porcelain to works by famed 20th century Studio potters.
Three lots coming up in German salerooms this month
03 June 2019Three potential highlights from German auctions at Van Ham in Cologne, Quittenbaum in Munich and Wendl in Rudolstadt.
Münter oils impress in Stuttgart sale
03 June 2019Five oil paintings by the German artist Gabriele Münter, long-time companion and partner of Wassily Kandinsky, were very much at the centre of the action on May 8 in Stuttgart when Nagel (33% buyer’s premium) sold Modern and Contemporary art.